Destination
by Dr. Breifs Cat
Summary: Well, it looks like our heroes are growing up, sniff, and it's time for them to enter the adult world, jobs, serious relationships and digimon partners. Life's destination
1. The Return of Davis

Destination

Disclaimers: Do you honestly think I own Digimon?! Because I don't! I don't make money off these fics either, just so you know.

Author Notes: The purpose of this fic is to bridge the gap between the series and the epilogue, so if you didn't like it, maybe I can help you warm up to the idea. Many thatks to aka Verigo for correcting the grammer of this chapter and the whole gang at the Addiction forum for their support!

****

Destination  
  
"Air France flight number 271, Paris to Tokyo now landing."  
  
"I can't believe Davis is finally coming back," Kari said in her excitement. "It's been so long since we've seen him."  
  
"Yeah," TK agreed from her side. "I still can't believe he went for one of those study abroad programs in the first place."   
  
It had been two semesters since Davis Motomiya departed on a collage sponsored enrollment in a French university. His friends had experienced a number of reactions to his departure, the first being shock at his choice to go--the young man did not know much more than two phrases in French. His best bet to get around would be his limited English, falling back on the gamble that most French citizens took English in school like Japanese children. The second response was respect for his determination; most people he knew, friends, family and the like had done their best to talk him out of the trip. The final response was simply to miss Davis for the ten months that he was gone.  
  
Upon hearing of Davis's return from his older sister June, Kari and TK had decided to surprise their friend and met him at the airport. Davis had missed quite a bit while he was away and TK and Kari wanted to be the ones to bring him up to speed. They had no news of their own to share, though most of their mutual friends had done a lot in the almost-year since they last saw the Motomiya boy.  
  
"There he is!" Kari shouted, pointing. "Davis!!" She waved her hands above her head to get his attention, not really caring that they were in a crowded airport.  
  
A look of surprise registered on Davis's face. Then he broke out into a grin and half-jogged, half-walked to his friends with his carry-on luggage slung over his shoulder.  
  
"Salut, mes amis," he greeted good-naturedly. Leaning over, Davis quickly kissed Kari on both cheeks. TK was about to protest, but didn't get the chance before Davis repeated the gesture on his cheeks. "Bises," Davis explained, "I've been doing that for the last ten months whenever I greet or say good-bye to a friend. Guess it's a habit. Comment-allez vous?"  
  
"Huh?" TK looked rather cluelessly at Davis as he wiped his cheeks."  
  
"How have you been?" Davis translated.  
  
"Fine, same old, same old. For us anyway. How was France?"  
  
"France est un tres bon pay!"  
  
"I take it you learned some French," Kari said.  
  
"Oui. La langue n'est pas facile," Davis said, nodding his head.   
  
"Hey, did you say 'hi' to Catherine for Tai and me?" TK asked.  
  
"Non, j'ai dit salut a la fille."  
  
"Uh, okay."  
  
As the trio chatted they made their way to the baggage claim so that Davis could pick up the rest of his suitcases.  
  
"Did she remember me?" TK asked.  
  
"Yeah," Davis said as he identified one of his bags. "When she visits, don't scare her like that again," Davis grabbed the suitcase by the handle and pulled it towards himself.  
  
"Visits?" Kari echoed.  
  
"We hit it off," Davis said. He quite nearly toppled over as his suitcase cleared the conveyor, but was able to catch himself. "She's coming to visit in a few weeks. Couldn't stand to be apart from me," he pronounced dramatically.  
  
"Sure, Davis," TK said, rolling his eyes. "How'd you guys even talk to each other to make these 'plans?'"  
  
"Using Japanese, French and English, it wasn't easy. Actually, I spent most of my free time in France with her. It was fun, a lot of what I can say she taught me. She taught me how to cook French cuisine, too."  
  
"Cook?" Kari asked skeptically.  
  
"Yeah, they're really big on cabbage over there. I dunno, I like rice or ramen better. We joked about opening our own restaurant a lot, too."  
  
"You're serious?" TK asked with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Totally. Her flight's in like three and half weeks. She's probably gonna spend the summer in Japan."  
  
"What else did you do?" Kari asked. By this time the trio had recovered Davis's bags and were making their way to the bus station.  
  
"Well, besides school and cooking we saw all the sights. Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, Normandy beach, stuff like that. We went rollerblading, too. They have this thing in France where they shut down all the streets so that only rollerbladers can use them all night. Really cool. So what have you guys been up to?"  
  
"We haven't done anything interesting," Kari said, "unless you count school work, school work and more school work."  
  
"Everyone else has been kind of busy, though. Matt was doing so well as a pilot that he was chosen for the space program. Can you believe it? My brother, an astronaut."  
  
"Didn't see that one coming," Davis said.  
  
"Tai's got a job as a UN representative. He says he's planning on being an ambassador someday."  
  
Davis raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Izzy's doing research on the Digital World," TK said.  
  
"Nice to know some things stay the same."  
  
"Joe's a doctor," Kari said.  
  
"There is a returning sense of normality to my life. Normal for me, I mean."  
  
"Ken's engaged--" TK was cut off by the sounds of Davis's luggage hitting the ground.  
  
"Ex Mr. The-World-Is-Not-Good-Enough-For-Me is ENGAGED!?! That's like more than a total 180! I don't believe it!"  
  
"To Yolei," Kari clarified.  
  
Davis picked up his suitcases again.  
  
"I believe it," he announced. Kari giggled and for once, Davis didn't blush.   
  
"Sora and my bro are still acting like newly-weds, but that's normal since they haven't even reached their one year wedding anniversary yet," TK said. A pause. Confused that Kari didn't jump in, TK continued. "Mimi's last e-mail said she was working on a cooking show in America. She's the assistant or something. We have a few clips, but don't get American shows on TV. Maybe you should talk to her if you and Catherine are serious about that restaurant thing."  
  
"We're not serious about that," Davis said, a blush now igniting his cheeks. "Jeez, I never shoulda mentioned it."  
  
"And Cody's looking into going Pre-law," TK said slowly.   
  
"What about you two?" Davis asked.  
  
"I'm writing a novel," TK announced. "I tried a few different things in school, but just couldn't find anything that spoke to me."  
  
"And writing 'speaks' to you?" Davis said around snickers.  
  
"I have an artist's soul," TK said seriously, causing Davis to erupt in a fit of laughter.  
  
"I'm going to be a teacher," Kari, who had now gotten over the shock of Davis being completely over her and the second shock of his apparent feelings for Catherine, said.  
  
"That sounds like something you would do," Davis said once he had calmed down from laughing so hard at TK's soul.  
  
"Guess that's everyone," TK mused, running through the conversation again in his mind.  
  
"Not hardly!" Davis protested. "What have our digimon been up to?"  
  
"Eating, sleeping and following us around, mostly," Kari said. "They are still seen as pets rather than people, so there aren't any job opportunities for them. That's one of the things Tai's looking to change as a diplomat."  
  
"Has anyone visited Veemon? It sucks that he couldn't come to France with me."  
  
"Wormmon or Gatomon go to see him in the Digital World everyday and they usually bring another of the digimon with them," Kari said brightly.  
  
"That's good," Davis said. "I was afraid he'd get lonely or something."  
  
"Hey, by the time we get to your place, he'll probably be there," TK explained. "Patamon and Gatomon are bringing him back to the Real World as we speak."  
  
"Really? Guys, that's great! Man, I'm gonna get to see everyone!"   
  
TK and Kari looked at each other and smiled. It was great to have Davis back.  
  
Once at the bus station, the trio boarded. Davis yakked on and on about how great it was going to be to see Veemon again and how much he had missed everyone. When there was about ten minutes left of the ride, however, Davis quieted down and looked out the window as Tokyo blurred past him. He seemed almost lost.  
  
They got off at the stop nearest to Davis's parents' apartment building. He had graduated from university in France a month earlier. At that time, his parents and June had come to see him and the plans that Davis would stay with his parents before he got a job and back on his feet in Japan had been made. It had also been then that Davis decided to stay in France another month to take care of a few loose ends and he made reservations for the flight he had just taken.  
  
Davis walked slowly a few feet behind TK and Kari for the block they had to go by foot. The sights and sounds of his native land were unfamiliar to him after so long. When they arrived at the apartment building, the doorman greeted Davis, but he didn't respond. Still silent, he rode the elevator with TK and Kari, who glanced at each other with worried expressions.   
  
Nearly forty-five minutes after initially greeting him at the airport, TK, Kari and Davis arrived at their destination. Methodically, Davis reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Three keys together on a metal ring, Davis selected one, inserted it into the door labeled 'Motomiya' and twisted until he heard a click. He pulled the key out and deposited the set back into his pocket. He took hold of the doorknob, twisted it and opened the door, a dark, empty apartment greeting him.  
  
The shouts of "SURPRISE!" that came from his friends and family jumping out from behind furniture and turning the lights on failed to have the intended effect. But Davis gasped and pretended they did, forcing himself to not search the familiar faces for the one he longed to see over any other. She wouldn't be there. She was in France.   
  
He smiled as Veemon hugged him, letting a mixture of happy and sad tears land on the little dragon's shoulder as he squeezed back.   
  
Davis surveyed the living room of the apartment; Tai was there, hair neat and trim; Matt was there, standing with an arm around Sora; Izzy was there, glancing every so often at the computer in the corner; Joe was there; Cody was there, smiling though only his eyes could tell one how truly happy the room's youngest occupant was; Ken was there, his arms wrapped around Yolei's waist; TK and Kari were there, holding hands and standing in the doorway behind him, unable to get in due to the blue and peach colored pile that was himself and Veemon; his parents were there, father proud of the scholar who studied abroad, mother trying to valiantly to save some hors' derves for the human guests; his sister was there, her eyes shining with tears at the sight of her brother, whom she'd only seen for three days in the past ten months, but was now home for good.  
  
Davis smiled; he was home. But he couldn't ignore the pang he felt in his heart as he stood up and the two extra keys--one for Catherine's apartment, the other for her car--poked his leg.   
  
"Davis," Tai said, making his way over to his former protegee, "it must be great being back in the Japan, huh?"  
  
"Oui," Davis replied, half-heartedly.  
  
"Ah, don't start talking French here!" Tai joked. "We don't have an international translator here."  
  
"Je sais."  
  
Tai blinked. 


	2. TK's Decision

****

Destination

"I have got to get back on Tokyo time," Davis muttered, reaching for the telephone, still half asleep. Though he had been back in Japan for days now, Davis had no desire to readjust to the time zone and wound up asleep at all sorts of odd times. Odd for those around him, that is. His watch--set to Paris time--kept him informed that his sleeping schedule was quite normal. 

The phone rang again. Davis fumbled to get untangled from his assortment of bedding and leapt for the phone before the machine would pick it up. He never liked answering in the middle of a message; it was rather odd.

"Allo?" he asked, inwardly slapping himself for using the customary French opening.

"Davis?" The person on the other end asked, affirming the answerer of the call.

"Yeah."

"Great, hi. It's TK."

"Oh, hey TS, what's up?" Holding the phone with one hand, Davis set out to use the other to pile his sheets back on his surprising uncomfortable futon.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something," TK said uncertainly.

"How about you come over? No one's really been around since the party a few days ago and Veemon's been bugging me to make crepes again."

"Uh, sure. See you in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay, by the way what time is it, anyway?"

"Around two thirty." TK answered after a pause, undoubtedly checking a clock in the next room or the like.

"Tokyo time," Davis muttered, reprimanding himself as he set the telephone receiver down after saying good-bye.

True to his word, TK arrived ten minutes later; Patamon perched on his white hat, which was in turn neatly situated on his head. He entered the Motomiya apartment even more uncertain than he had seemed on the phone. Not saying anything, TK followed Davis into the kitchen, where Veemon was easily carrying a large sack of flour. It was for the crepes, Davis explained. TK would talk and Davis would cook and then they would all eat. Fun.

"I've been thinking," TK began slowly as Davis mixed batter, "if I'm going to be a good writer, I should see as much of the world as I can, right? Knowledge of places outside of the Digital World and Japan would really come in handy."

"Yeah, yeah, great experience and all that," Davis said, remembering all the propaganda he had been given when making the decision to go to France. 

"Do you thing I should go somewhere, Davis?" TK asked, "Is the experience really that unbelievable?"

"Aw, I can't tell you what to do, TA," Davis said, flipping the crepe maker into the batter. The crepe maker resembled a reversed frying pan and was used by the surface being dipped into a pie plate of batter and cook for a few minutes. Davis would then scrape the baked crepe off of the maker and viola! A crepe, ready for fruit, chocolate or whatever else the eater desired to place on the thin pancake.

"But do you think it's a good idea?" TK asked, unconsciously leaning closer.

"Well, of COURSE it's a good idea," Davis said, dumping the first crepe onto a plate.

"I think I should test the first few out," Veemon said, squeezing between his human partner and the counter to snatch the plate. Davis, TK and Patamon chuckled as the small dragon loaded chocolate sauce onto the crepe before folding it like Davis taught him to and stuffing the entire thing into his mouth.

"I'm not sure, though," TK muttered. "I'd miss Mom, and Dad and Matt. Sora, too. It wouldn't be like in college when I could come home every few weeks. And Kari. I'd have to leave her as well; she already committed to teaching next fall and there's still so much training and paper work for her to do. Even if I kept my traveling to the summer, she couldn't come. You left everything behind, Davis. Was it really worth it?"

"In a word," Davis said, his voice never wavering, though his mind kept repeating one name over and over again. Catherine. "Yes. If you've got the opportunity, go."

"You're not trying to get rid of me, are you?" TK asked, mirth evident in his voice.

"TP, TP, TP, I just got here. Give me at least a week before I'm trying to get rid you," Davis joked, "What do you take me for?" 

"A pretty good chef," TK said, taking a bite of a strawberry jam crepe. "You really should consider that restaurant thing."

"Tell you what, it'll be my back up plan. Patamon, do you want chocolate or jelly?"

"Chocolate!" The digimon chirped.

"Shoulda known," TK said, "Digimon have sweet tooth's." 

"Yeah, remember how Yolei always had to bring so much junk food before we went to the Digital World?" Davis mused.

"How could I forget? Patamon's a pig sometimes."

"I am not a pig, TK." Patamon's statement probably would have had more of an impact had the digimon not had chocolate sauce smudged on his cheeks. As it was, the chubby flying creature was met with laughter.

"Have you talked about this with Kari?" Davis asked, returning to the original subject.

"Yeah," TK nodded, "that's how I know for sure that she can't come."

"What does she think?"

"She doesn't want me to go. She didn't say it, of course, but I can tell. I think I'm the only one who can always tell what Kari's thinking."

"Probably," Davis agreed.

"The thing is, though, that I really want to go," TK said. "When I first thought of traveling-- when you got back and were in French-mode-- I spoke to Matt first. He thought it was a great idea, but then, his whole career is based on going places when you think about it. So then I talked to Kari, and she didn't like the idea. I spoke to my brother and my girlfriend, that's the two people I'm closest to. I figured as the person who's dropped everything and left, you're the ideal tie-braker. I might talk to Cody, too, if I'm still really unsure about going."

"What about Patamon's opinion?" Davis asked pointing at the digimon who had returned to his place on TK's head.

"I want what TK wants," Patamon said "If he wants to go, I think he should go. And I'm going with him, too. There's no reason for me to stay behind like Veemon did." The dragon digimon's response to this comment was an unintelligible murmur about digimon rights, or the lack thereof. If Veemon hadn't had a mouthful of crepe, understanding him probably would have been easier.

"Sorry, buddy," Davis said, turning to Veemon, "but my old school only sponsors students. TS is using his own money, so nothing's limiting Patamon."

TK nodded.

"So, where are you thinking of going?"

"Well, I've been to the U.S. and France for a few hours, so I thought I'd try Italy and see where that takes me. I thought backpacking around Europe might provide me with a lot of material and experiences."

"You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you?"

"Yeah," TK said, "but I don't want to be stiff about it, I want to be free, I guess."

"Free that 'artist's soul' of yours?" Davis asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, like Matt did."

"Huh?"

"Well, remember when Matt was doing really well with music? He never made much money, but he really enjoyed what he was doing. That was the important thing, it was like his tortured soul was at peace."

"I think the important thing is that Matt was so strapped for cash that he joined the Air Force," Davis said, deadpan.

"But by then he had unlocked himself so to speak, and that was how he was able to move on and grow to love flying as much as music."

"Really big on metaphor, eh TA?"

"I could write a book based on Matt," TK said, "the older son of a broken family struggles to find his way--"

"--When, suddenly," Davis interjected overly dramatic, "he gets sucked into an alternate world and overcomes his own, uh, life stuff...to become a hero!"

"That's not what I meant," TK said.

"His valiant younger brother, KT could have a role too, and at the last minute, saves the day!"

"DAVIS!"

"You know," Davis said, his voice returning to a conversational tone, "they say every author writes himself into his characters at least a little bit, they just get so good at that no one notices."

"I think if I gave a character initials for a name and a Patamon, people would notice."

"Then you can write about me! The courageous Davis Motomiya, soccer player extrodinaire, savior of the Digital World, partnered with the ultra-powerful Exveemon and he makes a damn good crepe to boot!"

"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Of course, and he could have a beautiful blond sidekick, too." 

**********************

Kari Kamiya's life had few traditions. She was in a transition period, which to her, meant any thing goes. She was young; weren't the early twenties a time to find one's self? She had always assumed so. After college, she went her own way. Starting small, she rented out a one bedroom apartment in Odaiba and kept in touch with her the same friends she had known most of her life in addition to her college acquaintances. The time in her life allowed for her to begin new traditions; such as every other Tuesday was laundry day and Gatomon made dinner--usually something fish related, salmon nine times out of ten--every Thursday.

Kari's favorite tradition, however, was lunch with Yolei every Wednesday. It had been a scheduling nightmare during their college years, but sometimes it was the only way they could steadily see one another. Life could be hectic and a girl just needed to spend time with her closest female friend. Thus gossip over cheap ramen every Wednesday became a tradition.

As usual, Kari seated herself at a park bench near the ramen stand to wait for Yolei. The concept of being prompt was somewhat lost on the lavendar-haired girl, which coupled with the fact that the office building she worked in was seven city blocks away meant Yolei was late every week. They could, Kari mused, just push back the meeting time fifteen minutes, but no, that would break tradition. So Kari waited, tapping her shoes against the pavement. 

Yolei arrived in a huff, having ran the entire way as tradition provided. She could have caught a bus or rode her bicycle, but she preferred to run. Besides, it helped her keep her figure! 

"Kari," Yolei asked between breaths, "are you okay?"

Kari drew her gaze away from her tapping shoes to look sadly at Yolei. She gave a curt nod.

The lavendar-haired young woman dropped down beside her brunette friend.

"Oh, no, you're not," Yolei said, "something's wrong."

"I'm fine, really, Yolei. Thanks for your concern, though. Come on, let's get lunch." Kari stood up, but Yolei grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the bench.

"We're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," Yolei said sternly. "So spill it."

"It's TK," Kari said, swallowing hard.

"Is he okay?" Yolei asked, worried.

"He's fine, it's just yesterday he told me that he decided to go to Italy. We talked about it a few days ago and I thought he wasn't going to go. He said he wouldn't be gone long and that it was something he really wanted to do. To help his writing."

"So what's the problem?" Yolei asked. A vacation did not sound so terrible to her.

"I just don't want him to go. I know it's selfish of me, but I'd miss him so much," Kari said. "I can't stand being apart from him for long periods of time,"

"Well, I know how that is," Yolei interjected.

"I can't stop him from leaving, though," Kari said, "it would hurt him. So I guess I'll just have to miss him."

"Eh, love hurts," Yolei said with a slight smile. 

"You won't ever deal with anything like this," Kari said pointed out, "you're engaged."

"I," Yolei said, standing up, "am in a relationship with one Ken Ichijouji. The boy is pain personified." She turned to Kari and flashed a smile. "Now, let's get some lunch. I've only got an hour break, you know, Miss Teachers-Don't-Work-In-Summertime."

"Okay," Kari said and likewise stood up. Yolei started walking first and Kari trailed behind her, sighing inwardly. Sensing her that her friend did not feel any better, Yolei stopped abruptly.

"Kari, don't give up hope; he'll see the light." Yolei paused for a moment. "Pun intended!"

Kari laughed and the two continued to the ramen stand.

"He's still going to leave, though," Kari whispered to herself.

**********************

Correct grammer curtisy of Kat-chan and Patapata. Thanks!

Disclaimers same as the previous chapter


	3. The Arrival of Catherine

Anything said in these is translated from French.

Anything said in these is translated from French.

Disclaimers: Same as previous chapters.

A/N: Thanks to Kat-chan and Patapata for grammer corrections. ^_^

****

Destination

Davis Motomiya was an excitable person. Anticipation was not a friend of his, it had the not particularly impressive ability to drive him up the wall and nearly have him bouncing off them as well. Not to say he didn't like the brewing excitement, quite on the contrary. He reveled in it. His eyes were bright and his smile was wide and his girlfriend was getting off a plane.

Life was good to Davis Motomiya, it was very, very good.

He stood at the gate, occasionally standing on the tips of his toes to get a better view of the terminal. Behind him, TK Takaishi and Tai Kamiya glanced at each other. TK was familiarizing himself with the airport. He had decided, once and for all, that he was going to see the world. If that was what his writing required, that was what he would do. Dedication was a concept TK learned long, long ago. Tai, unaware of Davis's attachment to the girl on the plane, merely was curious and wanted to see her again. The beauty of his work was that he made his own schedule; of course, his schedule only allotted exactly thirty-seven minutes for the airport, then a forty-three minute drive across Tokyo and three minutes to make sure Agumon was ready before the two had a meeting.

Finally, she came into view. At first, Davis could only see the top of her head. A crimson headband was neatly tucked over blond hair. As the crowd dispersed, her flashing blue eyes came into view, as did her golden ringlets, spilling over her shoulders. She wore a t-shirt the same shade of red as her headband and short, dark blue jean shorts. She held her carry-on luggage in front of her, both hands held tightly to it. She was flanked by a Floramon, who glanced around the airport suspiciously.

"Cathy!" Davis called, waving his arms above his head. "Ici, ici, Cathy!" He took off at a run cross the gate. Catherine's face lit up at the sight of him. Floramon similarly looked relieved at the familiar face and French language.

"Davi!" Catherine called, a smile illuminating her features. Davis blushed at the way Catherine pronounced his name. He had been used to it, not so long ago, but the time away from her and her French accent changed that. Davis hoped nothing else had changed.

"I wonder if he'll do that bises things," TK mused as he watched a jumpy Davis.

"Bises?" Tai asked.

"Yeah," TK said, "he told Kari and I when he first got here that when French people greet friends, they kiss them on the cheek. Bises."

Tai and TK looked back at their friend and the young French woman and blinked.

"Or he could just stick his tongue down her throat." Tai said, eyes wide. 

"No wonder they call it 'French kissing,'" TK said, holding a hand over his eyes.

Once they had parted, Davis looped an arm around Catherine's shoulders and lead her to where Tai and TK were standing, with Patamon, as always, on TK's head. As for Catherine's bag, Davis took it and carried it in his free hand. The two and Floramon were engrossed in a conversation in French and upon reaching Tai and TK, they were received with three blank stares. Catherine ducked from underneath Davis's arm and strode to the other two boys.

"I am pleased to see you again," the young French woman said carefully. She took another step towards Tai and kissed both of his cheeks before repeating the gesture on TK. Floramon stood behind her and blew a kiss at Patamon. Catherine then returned to Davis's side and linked arms with him.

"So, Catherine," Tai said, making conversation as they walked to the baggage claim, "what hotel are you saying in?" Catherine looked at Tai blankly. Slowly, more so for his benefit than hers, Davis translated as best he could. Tai and TK listened without understanding as Catherine replied, in French, facing Tai.

"What she means is," Davis said, cutting in, "is that we were just talking and decided Cathy and Floramon could stay with me. Since June moved out a few years ago, her room is free and this way Cathy doesn't have to deal with the unfamiliar city. Believe me," Davis continued in conspiratorial tones, "she'd run right out into the middle of Tokyo if we let her."

"Act first, think later kinda gal?" TK asked.

"More like brave," Davis defended, "remember, she tried facing digimon alone in France a few years back and she was willing to come to Japan without a second thought.

"Well she's got a digimon partner," TK said, his eyes rolling upwards as though that would let him see Patamon. "It's not hard to be brave when there's a monster on your side." Tai and Davis agreed to that, as did Catherine once Davis clarified the statement for her.

*********************

The opening of the door did not surprise him. Perhaps it would have surprised another person; only one human and one digimon lived in the apartment and both were there already, thus the person entering now did not live there, nor did she knock or ring the doorbell. She just let herself in. Ken Ichijouji was not surprised in the least.

Ken was seated in the kitchen, the newspaper spread on the counter in front of him. He looked up as Yolei folded her coat and laid it on the stool beside Ken's. The corners of his mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile. Yolei, still standing, leaned down just enough to brush her lips against those of her fiancee.

"You know," she said once they had parted, "we need to set a date before TK leaves. Otherwise he might not make it back to Japan on time. He could have trouble getting a flight."

Ken nodded, remembering hearing something about TK not wanting to make reservations in advance, for the experience.

"So," Yolei continued, moving to stand behind Ken. "We need to decide what kind of ceremony we want and where and the date."

"What kind?" Ken echoed. "How many kinds are there?"

"I was talking to Mimi the other day," Yolei wrapped her arms around Ken's shoulders, "and she thought that the kind of ceremony they have in America would be good. Come on, a fancy white dress is so much more interesting than a red kimono. And just think! We could have bridesmaids, and flowers! Everything would be so beautiful!"

"Is this one of those times when contradicting you would be the same as signing a death warrant?" Ken asked, amused.

"Yep!" Yolei chirped.

"Sounds great."

Yolei grinned.

"So that means we'll need brides maids, escorts for them, a maid of honor, a best man, a location, flowers, my dress, a place for the reception, a band, catering, the cake..." Yolei's voice trailed off as she counted each item listed. "Flowers will be easy, Sora's mom works in a flower place." Yolei tilted her head to one side in thought and ran her fingers through Ken's hair. "Do you think I should have Kari or Mimi be my maid of honor?"

"Setting the date is probably more pressing than that," Ken pointed out, making a mental note to always wear his hair long.

"Spring time would be best; summers' too hot and winter and fall would be kind of bleak." Yolei made a face. "Plus, they're too far away. Next summer's a whole year and winter and fall are even further. I don't want to wait that long!"

"Spring it is," Ken murmured with a smile.

"We need a location," Yolei said, taking her hands out of Ken's hair and walking around him. "Outside in the spring..." She slid onto his lap, draping an arm across his shoulders. Ken wrapped his arms around Yolei's waist in response. "Let's have it outside on a bright, sunny day." Ken, seeing the glimmer in Yolei's eyes, only nodded.

"You're sweet," Yolei giggled, dropping a kiss on his mouth. "We can call some places tomorrow." Yolei kissed Ken again, deeper this time. "But what will we do 'til then?" she asked mischievously. Ken smirked and stood up, Yolei still in his arms.

*********************

The second thing Catherine did after arriving in Tokyo--the first being reacquainting herself with her petit ami's family over dinner--was go to the roof of the apartment building. The sky was dark by this time and the city was lit with artificial light. Cathy stepped up to the linked fence circling the roof and stared out over the unfamiliar skyline. 

So, what do you think?

Catherine turned, her blond curls swirling in the air. She smiled warmly at the speaker.

It's a beautiful city, Davi, she answered. He came up to stand beside her and Cathy leaned her head on his shoulder. I missed you, she murmured.

Well, uh, um, I'm here, Davis stammered, his face bright with a blush. To his relief, Catherine, instead of becoming embarrassed by the pigmentation, laughed.

And so am I.

Catherine's hand found Davis's then and they curled their fingers together and searched for stars over the brightly lit city.

*********************

"Yolei?" Kari quietly asked, her eyes following the scenery of Tokyo as the bus sped through the city.

"Hm?" Yolei didn't even raise her gaze from the bridal magazine she was engrossed in.

"When did you know Ken was 'The One?'"

"I saw him on TV for the first time when I was ten," Yolei answered, flipping through the pages of the magazine. 

"That's not what I meant," Kari protested. "When did you know he's the guy you want to spend your life with?"

Yolei looked up and blinked.

"That _was_ when," she answered. "What do you think of this flower arrangement?" Yolei asked, holding the magazine in Kari's view.

"It's nice," Kari said, softly.

"Oh, I can't wait for Mimi to get here," Yolei said, referring to the other woman's planned vacation in Japan. "She'll give much more enthusiastic opinions than you. You're barely with me."

"Sorry," Kari murmured.

"Kari," Yolei griped in frustration, "you're boyfriend going on vacation is not the end of the world. He's going to call you and write postcards and all that kind of stuff."

"I love him, Yolei and I've got this voice screaming in my head that I'm going to lose him."

"That's silly," Yolei said, "you two have been together forever."

"No," Kari said, "that's just it. We haven't been together. It's weird; whenever I'm with him, I totally love him. It's been like that since we were eight. But when we're not together, it's like I notice that other guys exist." Kari paused, collecting her thoughts. "I remember years ago, when I first met Davis, I had a huge crush on him. Then TK came to Odaiba and my feelings for Davis disappeared."

"Wait a minute--" Yolei said, "You're afraid _you're _going to meet someone?"

"I'm scared that I'll be in love with TK when he leaves, but not when he gets back. I don't want to hurt him like that. And what if I meet someone else? I'll hurt him, too." Kari sighed. "I hate this, I just want a nice comfortable relationship."

"So you want a dull, boring relationship?" Yolei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Kari said, "I want a relationship where I know where I stand. TK loves me, I love TK. I just want things to stay like that."

"But," Yolei pointed out, "don't you think that once he comes back you'll fall back in love with him if you quit being in love with him whiles he's gone?"

"Maybe, but then I'd hurt someone else. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I can't help but remember that you had no trouble hurting Davis," Yolei said.

"That's the thing, thought, I didn't hurt Davis, not really. He didn't like me so much as think he should like me. He convinced himself that he should like me, he didn't really _feel_ anything for me."

"Huh?"

"Davis," Kari said, "is great as convincing people. That's his biggest talent. He convinced us that he should lead the Digidestined even though he has no leadership skills, he convinced us that he hates TK when really they're friends, he convinced Ken to join us, he convinced his parents to let him go to France AND stay there an extra month. He convinced himself that he was in love with me."

"But he wasn't," Yolei said, catching on.

"No, he just thought he should be. So when I rejected him, I hurt his ego, not his feelings. Once he figured he shouldn't be in love with me, he stopped trying to tell himself that he was."

"Hn," Yolei said. "Hey, does that mean he only convinced us that he's a jerk?"

"Yeah," Kari said with a slight smile, "he acts less smart and more selfish than he really is to surprise people."

"How do you know all this, anyway?" Yolei asked.

"There's a reason he used to call me his girl, you know."

The bus pulled to a stop and opened its doors. Yolei and Kari got off. The two young women walked a few blocks, Kari leading Yolei who had once again buried her nose in her bridal magazine. They arrived at their destination after a short walk and entered. 

"Pink," Yolei said, folding her magazine, "we have to have pink bridesmaid dresses."

"How much have you been talking to Mimi?" Kari asked, amused. 

"A few times a day," Yolei answered with a shrug. "I want everything perfect and she has so many good ideas!"

The two young women began studying the bridesmaid dress patterns and colors available in the boutique. Yolei had already made a few decisions regarding the wedding; it would take place in late March of 2014, in an outdoor chapel, which did have a back-up covered location in the event of rain. This arrangement allotted eight months for planning. TK, who was set to leave for Italy in just two weeks had been alerted to his traveling limitations, though he was fairly certain he would be long back by then in any event.

Bridesmaids had been chosen and confirmed; Sora, Kari, Mimi and Yolei's two older sisters would fill those slots, though technically Sora and Yolei's eldest sibling would be bridesmatrons. Matt, TK, Izzy, Cody and Yolei's brother were scheduled as their escorts. Davis had naturally been made Ken's Best Man. Yolei, however, was still at a lost over whether Kari or Mimi should be her Maid of Honor.

So for now, Yolei and Kari were choosing the dresses for the bridesmaids. It was one of the most pressing things to set up; Mimi would only be in Japan for a week and a half between the shopping trip and the wedding, so her fitting would have to be during her visit. That arrangement only allotted two months to find the dresses, request the sizes and colors and have them delivered so that Mimi's dress could be fitted during her trip.

To be honest, the pink bridesmaid dresses were not Mimi's idea; blue or lavender could possibly clash with Yolei's or Ken's hair and yellow would not allow enough contrast between the colors of the bridesmaids and the bride. Yolei refused to even consider green. Thus, pink would be the color, or possibly red. Orange was similarly not in consideration. 

"It's a really good thing we have all day," Yolei said in awe as she surveyed her options. "I'm going to be doing this stuff every weekend 'til I get married." 


	4. 

Destination ****

Destination

"Congratulations."

Upon hearing Davis's voice, Ken lifted his head very slightly and opened his eyes.

"You've finally done something _dumber_ than try to take over the Digital World," Davis continued. "We're all so proud."

Ken snorted, but made no other response. He sat in the living room of Yolei's apartment, head down, arms folded across his chest. Wormmon was curled on his lap, warily watching Mimi and Yolei's reunion. The former had arrived in Japan, her current boyfriend, a digidestined known as Michael, in tow. Naturally, Yolei was thrilled to see her surrogate older sister. Thus, the squealing and giggling began. As did the torture of Ken and Michael.

Normally, Ken grudgingly reflected, he liked it when Yolei squealed and giggled. He thought it was quite cute, especially when she was giggling about something he said or did. But Mimi's squealing and giggling he did not appreciate in the least. He assumed the reverse was true for Michael. 

The 'dumb' action Davis, who had just arrived with Catherine in an effort to introduce her to all of his friends--Mimi and Michael included, had been referring to was when Ken proposed to Yolei. The engagement was the source of at least ninety-seven percent of the squealing and giggling. One would think after five months, they would be used to the idea. As Ken was beginning to learn, that was not so.

"All my great ideas backfire on me," Ken muttered in the best pseudo-evil voice he could muster. Davis blinked and inched away. 

"Hey, Davis, Catherine," Yolei called, "can I get you guys something to drink?"

"Sure," Davis said.

"Any preference?"

"Whatever's fine," Davis said with a shrug. Yolei nodded and disappeared into the kitchen with Mimi. 

"So, what was it like when Ken proposed?" Mimi asked as she and Yolei returned to their conversation. "Spare no details!"

"He just proposed," Yolei answered, choosing that moment to retrieve a pair of sodas for Davis and Catherine to hide her blush. She handed the cans to Mimi and pulled out two more sodas. "I think we can just assume Veemon and Floramon won't turn down something with sugar." Mimi and Yolei then returned to the living room to distribute the drinks.

"Thanks," Davis said cheerfully, popping open the can and taking a swig of cola.

"Thanks!" Veemon said enthusiastically and gulped his drink down, pausing only to burp. " 'Cuse me."

"Thank you," Catherine said carefully, making sure to get the inflection of the words correctly. 

"Merci," Floramon chirped. She and her human partner both sipped their soda.

"You're welcome!" Yolei and Mimi happily replied in unison. 

By this time, Davis, Michael and the digimon--Veemon, Hawkmon, Betamon and Palmon--had began a conversation about something, though Yolei wasn't sure what it was about having just entered the room. Catherine only said a few words here and there when she felt she could express her ideas well enough without Davis needing to translate. Floramon for her part suspiciously eyed a large plant that proudly stood in its pot against the wall

Yolei peered at Ken out of the corner of his eye. He had yet to get involved in the conversation. Though his social skills had improved greatly in the past few years, he still preferred to stay away from mindless chitchat. The sight of Ken brought Mimi's question back to the front of Yolei's mind. There had been quite a bit more to the event than she let on. 

She had actually been afraid for a moment that Ken was going to break up with her, Yolei remembered with a pang. He had been so serious, so grave that day. Abruptly, he turned to her and asked her the oddest thing.

'Do you love me?' Ken had asked. The question had caught Yolei off-guard, Ken knew she loved him.

'Yes,' she answered without thinking. Normally, she would have gone on, but the suddenness of the question coupled with the obvious answer had left her in a bit of shock.

'Why?'

Yolei could have listed things she loved about him for hours, but knew that wasn't what he was asking. Ken wanted to know why Yolei loved him as a whole. That, she didn't know how to answer.

'It's just this feeling I've got,' Yolei stammered.

'I've got a habit,' Ken said, 'of loosing the things I love.' Ken closed his eyes to shield his emotional agony. 'Promise me I won't lose you,' he whispered.

Yolei's fears dissipated with that statement. 

'You won't, I promise.' 

Ken had pulled her into his arms then, holding her tightly, desperately. He lowered his head, raining kisses along her neck and cheek. Yolei wound her arms around him, reveling in the rarity of Ken initiating anything. He kissed her ear, mumbling something. Yolei couldn't tell if it was a plea, request or possibly a demand. It didn't matter; her response was the same regardless. It was then that Ken's trembling hands slipped a diamond ring on her finger.

Bringing herself out of her reverie and snapping back to the present, Yolei dropped herself on the couch beside Ken. He peeked at her through the corner of his eye, the gaze hidden by the indigo hair that hung from his bowed head. Yolei smiled and snuggled against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and letting her head rest on Ken's shoulder. He leaned his head against hers and silently sighed as he tried in vain to block out Mimi's giggling and squealing. 

**********************

When do you want your flight? Davis asked, picking up the phone before making Catherine's flight reservations. She swallowed sadly. She had spent three months in Japan with Davis; there was nothing in France anymore. The Island nation seemed almost like home. The weird food, the foreign language, the fashion, the bugs in vending machines...it was nearly enough to make her go insane.

But this country had Davis Motomiya and that was all she needed.

You don't have to leave if you don't want to, Davis murmured, I want you to stay. He put the telephone down and wrapped his arms around Catherine. Floramon and Veemon watched from a few feet away, the former cooing at the display. Veemon shrugged and passed it off as one of those odd things humans do, resisting the urge to glance at Floramon. The flower digimon had clasped her upper appendages and cocked her head to the side, leaning ever so slightly in Veemon's direction. 

Odd, odd things humans do.

**********************

In a swirl of heat, summer had come and gone. With fall came the new school year and Kari Kamiya's first year as a teacher. She entered her profession with a teacher's aiding digimon by her side and a class of young children trailing behind her, eager to begin their education and very receptive of all Kari had to tell them--for the first few days that is. Once the novelty of being a real student had worn of, the children were more ready for fun than anything else. Of course, a year filled with arts, crafts, simple math and kanji memorization had plenty of room for both play and study in the lesson plan.

Arriving home at 5:30, as had become the usual, Kari entered the apartment complex she called home after a long day at Odaiba elementary, stopping in the lobby to retrieve her mail. Gatomon held a gloved paw to her mouth in thought as she walked beside Kari, considering the best way for her partner to discipline a student who insisted upon tugging on her long stripped tail. As the two made their way to the elevator, Kari flipped through the envelops. A few articles of junk mail, two bills, a small, elegant envelope and a postcard. Kari smiled and turned it over.

__

Dear Kari,

Greetings from Greece! The Mediterranean is beautiful; the pictures I've taken don't do it justice, but I hope you like them. You must have gotten the e-mail by now; I sent it the day before (hopefully) I sent this postcard. 

Remember when I told you about the vacationing fellow I met in Rome? Well, it turns out the Japanese magazine he publishes in the United States accepted the short story I wrote! I'm officially a professional writer. 

I took a ferry around the different countries that border the Mediteranean Sea. It took a long time each trip, but I took the time to outline a novel. When I get back to Japan, I'll begin the serious writing. Here's the best news! I booked a flight to Tokyo. It takes off from Germany, so I'll make my way north for the next few weeks.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you again.

Love, TK 

Kari opened the small envelope next. She knew what was in it, but she still had a desire to finally see it.

__

Mr. And Mrs. Raymond Inoue 

Request the honor your presence at the marriage of their daughter

Yolei Inoue

to

Ken Ichijouji

on Saturday, the seventeenth of May in the year of twenty-fourteen

at 10:00 AM

at the Hitachi Gardens

Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan

R.S.V.P

Kari tucked the invitation back into it's envelope as she and Gatomon rode the elevator to their apartment and to a dinner of microwavable pasta. It had been a long day. 

**********************

Author Notes: To clear up any lingering confusion:

Chapter One: Mid-June, 2013

Chapter Two: Roughly three days later

Chapter Three: Roughly three weeks to one month after Ch.2

Chapter Four: Roughly two months after Ch.3 in the opening scene; a few days later in the second scene and a few months later in the last scene, most likely late fall/early winter

Chapter Five: Spring, 2014

Chapter Six: Roughly a year after Ch.1, perhaps a little less

Chapter Seven: Varies

TK was/will be out of Japan for 8-10 months, roughly.

Ken and Yolei were engaged for about a year all in all.

For Yolei's dad's name I took Rei (from my dead fic 'Generations') and got the guy name Ray and then formal to Raymond. As for the name of the Gardens, that's the brand VCR I've got. All hail Japanese electronics.


	5. Wedding Bells Have Rung

"Excuse me for a minute," Yolei said, giving Ken a quick kiss on the cheek. He merely watched as his wife of one and half hours dashed away from him. A sense of deja vu hit Ken as he stood alone, the closest group of people--Yolei, Davis, Cody, Kari an

Disclaimers: Nothing's changed.I still don't own Digimon.

**Destination**

"Excuse me for a minute," Yolei said, giving Ken a quick kiss on the cheek.He merely watched as his wife of one and half hours dashed away from him.A sense of deja vu hit Ken as he stood alone, the closest group of people--Yolei, Davis, Cody, Kari and the newly returned TK and their respective digimon--a few meters away.He blinked as an ill feeling settled into his stomach, glancing down at Wormmon who stood at his ankles.

Laughter erupted from his friends, leaving Ken to wonder why he had been excluded for the first time in years, by Yolei and Davis, no less.Yolei who married him, who held him, who talked and laughed with him, who loved him in both an emotional and physical sense; Davis who was his best human friend, who welcomed him when he didn't deserve it, who fought against him when he was wrong and with him when he was right, who stood beside him when he got married.They excluded him from their jokes and laughter and mirth.

"I told you I was going to marry him!" Yolei giggled to her friends, outside of Ken's hearing range."'Yolei Ichijouji!'" she quoted herself."'Ken and Yolei Ichijouji!'"

"What was that about?" Ken casually asked Davis later, bringing his best friend aside as Yolei and Kari disappeared for girl chat.It was out of sheer will that the indigo haired young man was able to keep the apprehension out of his voice.

"What was what about?" Davis replied almost automatically.

"Just now..." Ken gestured to the space formally occupied by the other digidestined.

"Oh, that, inside joke.You wouldn't get it."

Ken blinked.

"It's..." Davis trailed off, determined not to callously bring up Ken's past for the umpteenth time in their acquaintance."...Before your time."

"Oh," Ken's acknowledgment of understanding was soft and low, the shame barely reaching the surface.Davis smiled, Ken had long ago put it all behind him.

**********************

Technically, Yolei had to admit that the ladies' room was not the worse place to have a private conversation.

"What's up?" she asked Kari, as nonchalantly as she could.The younger woman was obviously bothered by something and Yolei was determined not to let Kari bring herself down anymore.

"It's TK," Kari began, shaking her head as Yolei began to say something about how nice it must be to have him back home.

"We broke up," she stated dully.

"What?" Yolei asked, not believing her ears.

"Just a little while ago," Kari forced out, obviously having trouble with what she was saying.

"It's okay Kari, just say whatever you need to."For the most part, Kari Kamiya preferred to keep her feelings and thoughts to herself; worrying another person or hurting someone was not a thing she liked to do and she would go to great lengths to prevent it.But there were times, however, when she needed to let everything out, when she needed to just slowly leak out anything that had been bottled inside.

Kari closed her eyes, took a breath and began her story.

"I was so happy when he got back.He had so much to say and all these experiences and photographs and new friends and hobbies.He showed me a few of his manuscripts.He's completely re-writing the novel he was working on before he left.But when we really started talking, I realized how little I really knew him.All we had was the Digital World, nothing else.Our entire relationship was based on counting on each other as children.Our lives are just so completely different now, he talks about Italian coffee shops while I talk about kindergartners tying their own shoes.We didn't connect anywhere.I think we tried, but to be honest, I don't even know.I was too scared that he might not like me anymore that I was afraid to say what I thought now and I bet he was the same way.I never saw it before but we're so similar."

"Wait," Yolei said, deadpan, holding up one hand, "Are you too different or too similar?You're not making any sense, Kari."

"Yes I am," the brown haired woman protested, holding a loosely fisted hand just in front of her mouth."We have all these similar traits, but all these different opinions and ideas and dreams.It's almost like being in a romantic relationship with yourself, only a different version of you.The You you would have been if something else happened.It's like what you said before he left, it's a dull, boring relationship.I liked it because it was comfortable and now, and now," Kari's voice cut off as she buried her face in her hands.

Yolei, not having anything else she could do, wrapped her arms around her friend and let her cry, off-handedly noticing it was the first time she had ever actually seen Kari cry.

"I thought it was meant to be," Kari whispered against Yolei's shoulder, "I thought it would be forever.I thought it was destiny."

"You can't think these things," Yolei whispered, "you've got to feel them."

"Sometimes," Kari murmured, drawing away from the older woman, "I don't even know what I'm feeling."

"As the most emotionally-in-tune person you know," Yolei said, placing her hands on Kari's shoulders and desperately trying to lighten the mood, "I can honestly say that right now, you're feeling sad."Kari wiped her eyes and chuckled a bit.

"Thanks, Yolei," she sniffed.

"Feeling better?"

Kari nodded.

"Honestly?"

Kari hesitated.

"A little better," she confided.

"You going to be okay?"

Kari nodded.

"Great, because I've got an affection starved husband with a fragile ego to embarrass," Yolei said with a wink."Not to mention his mother, who's been sobbing on and off for the past three hours or so.I don't get it," Yolei huffed, "I thought she liked me."

Yolei picked up the hem of her gown and walked to the door of the ladies' room.She pushed it open and motioned for Kari to follow her.The women walked back outside to the festivities and scanned for Ken's location.Yolei found him standing near a table talking with his parents.Yolei turned to Kari and winked.

"Ten bucks says if I go over there, Ken's mom will start crying again."

**********************

"Now," Mimi said, standing by Yolei's side as the reception drew to a close, "you turn around, and toss your bouquet over your shoulder.Who ever catches it is the next bride.Remember to aim for the maid of honor!"

The maid of honor, Yolei had noticed, was not found in the group of single women preparing to try to catch the flowers.It had taken a bit of explanation from Mimi, with a bit of help from Catherine who also understood Western traditions, to get as many single female reception guests as possible to gather together to try to catch the flowers.Kari preferred to stay quietly seated at the table reserved for the wedding party, not that Yolei could really blame the poor girl.

"Wait for me," Mimi cheerfully requested before joining over to the other girls.

Taking one last peek over her shoulder to ensure that Kari had not joined Mimi and the others, Yolei faced away and tossed her bouquet.

As the flowers sailed through the air, the group of young women shuffled, each trying to predict the place the bouquet would land.Finally, the bouquet gently reached out-stretched arms.Yolei turned around and grinned as Catherine waved the bouquet above her head, the majority of the other girls were not really very disappointed that they had lost.They didn't really know why they were participating, anyway.

Mimi would have disappointed, but she had a mission of sorts to complete.She grinned ferally at Yolei for a moment before disappearing into the sea of guests.From the depths of the crowd, Mimi watched out of the corner of her eye as Davis hugged Catherine and took it upon himself to inform everyone that the bouquet catching tradition was very accurate, not that he'd ever actually seen one before.

Her target spotted, Mimi approached with her sweetest smile.

"Hi, Ken," she said cheerfully."It was such a beautiful ceremony," Mimi sighed with starry eyes."Everything's been just perfect so far, but there's still just one more teeny tiny tradition Yolei was looking forward to."

Ken blinked.

"There is?"

As expected, Ken was oblivious to the remaining custom.

"It's not a big deal, really.A teeny tiny little thing, but Yolei would be really happy if you could do it..."Mimi clasped her hands and looked at Ken with starry, hopeful eyes.

"Okay, okay," the young man said, holding up him palms in a defeated gesture.If it would make Yolei happy, he'd do anything.To Ken, the world stopped spinning when Yolei stopped smiling.The only way to set things right was to make her happy again.Yolei was made to smile."Whatever it is, count me in."

Mimi grinned broadly.

"Yolei's just going to love it--this is so romantic!"

The ill feeling from a few hours ago returned and planted itself firmly in Ken's stomach in the form of tiny, minuscule bit of dread.He was never very good at the terribly romantic aspects of being in a relationship.They were just embarrassing, he'd noticed, sure fire way to make a fool of oneself.

"C'mon, Michael set everything up, see?"Mimi pointed to the center of the festivities, a lone chair in the sea of parental co-workers and family friends.

The bit of dread rooted itself more firmly and began to take nourishment from the mysterious, oh-so-romantic and very _public event._

"Uh, what am I supposed to do, anyway?" Ken asked, his voice sounding somewhat lost in his own ears as he watched Davis, Catherine and Michael rounded up various guests.All young men, Ken noticed.

"Do you know what a garter is?"Mimi asked off-handedly.

Ken shook his head, reluctantly as he always did when admitting there was something he didn't know.Belatedly realizing he was walking behind her, Ken voiced his negative.

"I didn't think you would--it's a western women's accessory,"Mimi explained.

The dread began to wither...clothing?He could handle however romantic clothing was.

"What do I do?" Ken asked as they neared the chair.He fondly watched as Yolei sat down, adjusting the folds of her gown.

"You just take it off of her," Mimi shrugged."That's about it."

Ken looked at Yolei a bit closer as they approached.He didn't see any sort of accessories that he didn't recognize.

"Where is it?" he mumbled, a low aside to Mimi.

"On her thigh," came the cheerful response.

The dread grew like a weed, taking over Ken's stomach and twisting it sharply.He stopped walking and Mimi turned sharply to face him upon hearing the absence of footfalls.She grabbed in upper arm with both of her hands and pulled.

"C'mon, Ken!You already said you'd do it!" Another tug."It's tradition!"Another tug, one with a bit more leverage this time.Absently, Ken moved one of his feet a few inches, not realizing he was providing Mimi with encouragement.He'd already lost the war, he knew, he just had to drag the final battle out a bit more, retain some dignity."Yolei," Mimi reminded him with another tug, though her final proclamation had succeeded in making Ken's legs work again.

They arrived at the chair where Yolei sat, a slight breeze blowing tendrils of her hair around her shoulders.Mimi elbowed Ken and whispered something to him before leaving the newlyweds to their own private world.Slowly, and as though mesmerized by the vision in front of him, Ken lowered himself to one knee as Mimi had instructed.He stared into the depths of her eyes as Yolei extended the leg that wore the garter.

Yolei smiled as Ken's cheeks flushed and his warm violet-blue eyes darted.Affectionately, she rubbed his hair, which was tied back in a low ponytail, as requested.He glanced up, his eyes meeting hers again and without taking her hand off his head, Yolei favored Ken with her smile.His lips curled up just slightly in response.Slowly she drew her hand away.

"Anytime now," Yolei muttered.

Ken took hold of the hem of her dress and pushed the gown away, exposing her leg to himself and everyone else in attendance.He felt a wave of possessiveness, but brushed it off at his target came into view.

It was a white, frilly sort of thing, delicate and dainty to eye.Oddly shaped red hearts and layered green tear drops had been embroided into it and Ken wondered how far in advance something so obviously custom made had been ordered.

Yolei held her dress in place as Ken's hands wandered to the garter.He grasped it loosely, as though afraid it might brake.It slid down her thigh with a bit of coaxing, he maneuvered it around her somewhat bent knee and easily down her thin calf.Ken stretched it to get around her shoe and finally, the garter's journey was complete.With a rustle, Yolei adjusted her dress to cover herself up again.

The dread in Ken's stomach withered and died.

The indigo haired young man looked at the thing in his hand for a moment and on a whim stretched it like a rubber band.The dainty garter was a good deal more resilient than it looked.

Mimi returned then, pulling the couple out of their own little world.

"Not quite done yet, Ken,"she gestured to the young men that had been collected earlier with a wink."This is the guys' version of the bouquet," she belatedly explained, "so you have to toss it to them."

Ken nodded and with a flick of his wrist, he let the garter fly.

A few meters away, Davis struggled through the group of men, determined to get the garter.Unlike Ken, he knew the complete story--the guy who caught the garter had to put it on the leg of the girl who caught the bouquet.Tradition said the two who participated would be the next pair to get married.Every inch over the knee was good luck!Davis refused to let anyone touch his girl.At least, that's what he told himself, though the simple truth was that he had no chance of catching that accessory.Of course, giving up was the last thing on Davis mind, tuxedo or no tuxedo he would get into a fist fight for it if he had to.

In the final seconds, Davis felt a sudden weight hit his shoulders.He stumbled forward as the weight shifted to his head and then disappeared.He raised his head, the image of Veemon sailing through the air.The blue dragon met the garter mid-air and swung himself around, chucking it straight at Davis. 

"Woo!" Davis shouted, grasping the garter.He punched the air in a victory display, grinning."Way to go, Veemon!"

"Aw, shucks," the digimon said, placing a hand behind his head."It was nothing, Davis."

Catherine handed the bouquet to Floramon as she and Davis approached the chair.She sat down and the band--a recommendation from Matt--began to play the customary song.Grinning broadly, Davis set to work with the garter, slipping it up her calf, over the knee and a few inches up her thigh in the minute allotted for the catchers' prize.

Floramon studied the bouquet--it was just some off-white flowers in a simple yet elegant and beautiful arrangement with extra bits of greenery here and there and wrapped in intertwined pink and red ribbon.There was actually quite a bit of symbolism that Floramon could detect in the flowers, one of the more scandalous being that the flowers implied the bride was not a virgin.Not that Floramon cared a wit about that.No, she was more occupied with Catherine's new-found possession of the flowers.

Floramon was not the jealous type, of course.No--she gripped the blossoms of the flowers in one handful--not at all.

"Catherine est la mienne!" she whispered viciously to the bouquet, before ripping the petals from the stems and letting them rain down onto the grass.Veemon, beside her, looked at the flower digimon oddly for a moment, until a very weak Rain of Pollen told him to mind his own business.Wiping at the orange substance that found itself on his nose-horn, Veemon complied.Until he noticed Floramon was giggling at him, that is.

The eye contact between the two digimon was brief, both found their eyes directed at the ground in embarrassment before long.Out of the corner of her eye, Floramon caught a glimpse of Veemon studying the petals on the ground.She shifted her weight and her stance, just happening to step on a few of the petals.

"Veemon est le mien, aussi," she added as a slight whisper, stamping out the petals.

Veemon, having not heard Floramon's new proclamation, looked at her with a raised brow over the final destruction of the flowers.Floramon shrugged and blew a kiss at him. 

Blue dragons blush purple.


	6. Kids In America

Years later, they would say that it all began with a pull-cart in America. For the most part, Davis would agree with them. Not because it was true so much as because he couldn't waste every interview correcting them with the story of how he first came 

**Destination**

Years later, they would say that it all began with a pull-cart in America.For the most part, Davis would agree with them.Not because it was true so much as because he couldn't waste every interview correcting them with the story of how he first came to love Ramen noodles when he began eating solid foods, because he couldn't recount the same tales of his childhood dream to own his own noodle shop, because he didn't want to dwell on the fact that before he started his own place he got fired from another job, because he didn't want to explain that the whole thing really started as joke with his girlfriend.They were young, they were still in school and they liked to cook.

They would joke around about owning their own restaurant someday, though neither really believed at the time that their relationship was 'someday' material.Those comments however always led Davis back to thinking about his childhood dream.And when the jokes were over and 'someday' had been on the horizon for a long time, he figured he might as well go for it.

What was stopping him anyway?Reason?Pah.Logic?That was never part of Davis's vocabulary.So, he decided it was time for a new adventure.And _that was when it began, not with some crummy cart in New York..._

**********************

There were a few small triumphs.The biggest probably was when she had been there about a year.She opened a discarded newspaper and could recognize a few words in the headlines.She flipped through to the classifieds and could pick out a requirement or two for each job.Naturally, she couldn't take any of them.Fluency in French, passable English and limited Japanese were never requested.

So, Catherine had no income.Not to say she was useless, no she refused to be some sort of freeloader to Davi's family.That would not do.She and Floramon cooked, Davi cheerfully helping when he could snag the early evening time away from work, they cleaned and did the laundry.She 'paid' room and board threw housework and her delightful hosts seemed to appreciate it.At times, she almost felt like a daughter.

A daughter who could barely understand a word of what her parents said.

As for now, though, she wanted a job.

It was funny, Catherine supposed, that a summer trip to spend time with a sweet boy with whom she'd spent a school year could turn into a whole new life.She loved Davi, she was meant to be with Davi and if that meant living in Japan then that's where she would be.The transition was over, long over, she needed a job, her own place, income.

Catherine was boiling rice one day in early June, Floramon rolling dough for buns that the partners had noticed Davi's father was quite fond of, when Davi arrived home from work early.He was wearing that ear to ear grin that told Catherine immediately that something conventionally bad had happened, but was the sort of thing that opened about a million doors to new opportunities.Davi was the sort of person who could have lived by the phrase 'No door closes without opening a window.'

Great news!Davi cried, walking into the kitchen and throwing his arms open.

"Que?"

I got fired!

Unlike Davi, Catherine was distressed by the news.

"Pourquoi?" Catherine asked, concerned, despite Davi's large grin.

Something about running into one of the other chefs, him knocking into a pot spilling boiling water and noodles all over the floor...then the manager slipped and landed on his rear.So I got fired.They almost got the other guy, but it was my fault, so I got him to keep his job.Davi shrugged and grinned.Oh, well, I didn't like the hours that much anyway.

How is that good? Catherine asked frankly.

Freedom, Davi replied.I got to thinking,he said, placing a thoughtful finger on his chin.Remember when Mimi and Michael where over and they said that we ought to go to ol' New York sometime?

"Oui," Catherine said, thinking back on how she and Mimi had carried on a few difficult conversations in English.It had been nice not needing a translator.

So, I was there once a few years ago, about the time you got your digivice and Floramon, you know?And there's this place called Central Park and around it they have little stands and stuff.Different types of food.So, I figure an ultra-authentic Japanese place would do well, cause they like exotic stuff over there. 

We don't have the money to start something like that, Catherine began.

You're forgetting I have connections,Davi said, wagging his finger at her.Tai can get us through Digi-customs and we can save on plane fare and shipping by going through the ports.

Fondly, Catherine smiled.

Is there anything you didn't think of?

One thing.What we're going to tell my parents.

Catherine laughed and they both seemed to understand the conversation was over and their livelihood had been decided.

**********************

"Noodles, noodles, come get your noodles!"

Despite the fact that Catherine had been standing next to him when Davis climbed atop the seven foot portable cart, she had no idea how exactly he managed to do it.Yet, there he was, sitting with his feet dangling against the wooden planks, slurping his made from scratch lunch.Every so often, he would shout an advertisement.At first, it had been something different each time, but eventually he settled on one phrase.Catherine thought this one, while better than 'Ramen noodles you don't have to microwave!,' wasn't the most original thing he could have said.

"Hey!" a high pitched voice called."Can we get some service?"

Davis looked down and grinned.

"Slow day?" Mimi asked, looking the cart up and down.

"I think we've sold three cups," Davis answered, "and that's not counting the fifteen orders Veemon ate and the twelve that Floramon had."

"Treize," Catherine corrected, pointing over her shoulder to where the digimon sat.Floramon was currently eating noodles one at a time with her finger-like appendages, a neglected set of chopsticks lying between herself and Veemon. 

"Well," Mimi said, "in that case, I'll have one."

"Thanks," Davis said, "Come again.Please, please, please, come again."

Catherine laughed and filled a cup with noodles.She passed it to Davis, who passed it to Mimi in exchange for a dollar.

"I'll have one as well," Michael said, "But I can't be sure how many Betamon will want."

"Hopefully a lot," Davis said.Mimi and Michael laughed, but Catherine, who to be fair wasn't one hundred percent sure what they had said, had the feeling it wasn't a joke.

As Mimi and Michael sampled their lunch, the passing tourists seemed to be walking past the cart at a slower speed.At first, none of the four friends noticed, but finally a group of teenage girls stopped.And requested Michael's autograph.

"Sorry," the actor said, "I don't have anything to write on."

The girls, all fans of some soap opera Michael was on that neither Davis nor Catherine had ever even heard of, seemed disappointed until one noticed the ramen cup he was eating out of was made out of cardboard and quite autographable.Four more sales, four happy customers which turned into four happy soap fans.

"Sank yuu!" Davis called as they left, "Come again!"

"This is a pull-cart," Mimi said suddenly, "maybe you could get more interest if you came to the customer instead of the customer coming to you."

**********************

They weren't lost, per say.True, they had no idea where they were going, where they had come from or how to get back to where ever it was they were soppused to be, but that wasn't lost, was it?Floramon had said something, but Veemon hadn't quite caught her meaning.New...noss...perdon...whatever that meant.

"Nous nos perdons," Floramon pouted every so often.Other times she would call for Catherine, that at least, Veemon understood.There were only so many ways one could pronounce a name."Je vais aller a notre apartement ou je vais aller a Paris ou je vais etre avec Catherine. Tu t'ennuie Davi, n'est-ce pas?"

Because her last statement seemed to be directed at him, Veemon stuttered a positive, then a negative and finally admitted that he really only knew she had asked him something about Davis.For all he knew her simple inquiry of 'you miss Davis, right?' could have meant 'you like to eat Davis, right?'

"Je t'ennuie Davi, aussi.Je lui aime.Catherine lui adore.Aime-tu Catherine?"

"'Aime' sounds like 'ami,'" Veemon said aloud, trying his best to figure out what the flower digimon had asked, "And everyone knows 'amie' means friend in French.So, I guess Catherine est mon ami,"

"Ta amie," Floramon corrected.

"Catherine est ta amie?" Veemon questioned.He had always been under the impression that 'mon ami' meant 'my friend.'While he hadn't picked up much of what Floramon and Catherine said in French, Catherine had been really trying to improve her Japanese and English conversation skills over the past few months and Floramon spoke much to quickly, he had picked up on 'is.'Suis, es, est, sommes, etes, sont.

"Oui!"

And 'yes.'He knew 'yes.'

"Mais," Floramon continued.That, Veemon didn't know. "Catherine est ta amie, aussi."

"But that's what I just said!" Veemon protested.

Seeing he didn't understand, Floramon shook her hands in a 'stop and wait' motion."Catherine est ma amie," with that she pointed to herself, "mais, Catherine es ta amie, aussi." The second part of the statement she touch Veemon's shoulder.

"Catherine est ta amie," Veemon said pointing to himself.

"Non, non, non!" Floramon insisted."Ma," she corrected.

"Catherine est ma amie," Veemon said pointing to himself, "because 'ma' is my.And 'ta' is yours."He waited for confirmation, but Floramon, not understanding what he said, gave none.So he tried her approach."Catherine is my friend," he pointed to himself, "Catherine is your friend," he pointed to her.

"Catherine is my friend," Floramon parroted Veemon, pointing to herself, "Catherine is your friend," and she pointed to him.Veemon clapped in affirmation.Floramon mimed a curtsy to which Veemon bowed in response.

"I know what we can do to find Davis and Catherine!" Veemon said suddenly."Come on!"He took off a run, leaving Floramon standing where the two of the had been moments before.Seeing she wasn't with him, the dragon dashed back, took her leaf enveloped hand and they ran together.They traced their steps, both the ones they took before being separated from the wheeled cart and the ones they had taken afterwards until they returned to where the quartet had originally been before Mimi and Michael's arrival.

Though Floramon recognized the location, she still didn't understand why they returned.Catherine and Davi knew they weren't there.After knowing each other so long, while he didn't understand her words, Veemon could still read her expression.He knelt down and ripped up a patch of grass on the edge of the path.With his forefinger claw, Veemon scratched an image of Davis's D-3 in the dirt.He pointed to the drawing.

"Davis can find me using his D-3," he said slowly."Davis," he repeated, waiting for Floramon to nod in response, "find," he pantomimed looking for something by touching his thumb to his forehead and shading his eyes with his hand while turning his head, "me." He pointed to himself."With his D-3.Davis and Catherine find us."

"Nous no nos perdons pas!" Floramon exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah.Let's go back to 'is my friend.'"

**********************

Veemon awoke lying in Davis's noodle cart as the young man pulled it along with Catherine struggling to help.

"Davis?" he questioned.

At the sound of his partners voice, Davis turned his head to see Veemon.

"The next time we get separated," the human told his digimon, "and I have a really big cart to lug around with me everywhere I go, stay in one place, man!"

"We must have gone all over the borough looking for you two," Catherine added in that slow, careful Japanese of hers, "How did you get separated from us?"

"While we were waiting for that Unimon and buggy to cross the street," Veemon began, "Floramon saw abunch people at a little outdoor rose stand and--"

"Say no more," Catherine said holding her hand up.Veemon chuckled and noticed Floramon was still asleep beside him.

"How long did it take you to find us once we stayed in one place," Veemon asked, remembering the two digimon had eventually fallen asleep under the shade of a large tree, but not after Floramon yelled a few things at it.What, Veemon wasn't quite sure of.But he did know being in the Real World without your partner was some tiring work.

"Between lugging this thing around and people wanting to buy ramen, it took a long time.When the signal finally got steady we were about thirty blocks away from Central Park, at least."

"And it was early evening by then, we were mobbed with singles trying to get a quick dinner," Catherine added.

"What did you guys do all that time?" Davis asked, "you can't even talk to each other."

"French lessons," Veemon responded."I know the difference between 'ma' and 'ta.'"

"What about 'mon' and 'ton?'" Davis asked.

"Et nos et vos?"

"'Catherine est ta amie' is as far as we got," Veemon said.

"That reminds me of when we met," Davis said, eyeing Catherine."Je m'appelle Davis, tu t'appelle Catherine," he quoted himself.

"Elle s'appelle Floramon," Catherine continued.

"Je suis japonais, tu es francaise," Davis added.

"Elle est du Monde Digital."

Veemon laid back down as his partner and Catherine laughed and, not for the first time, wondered what they were talking about.

~*~*~

Disclaimers:Seeing as this is the sixth chapter, I'm assuming you know that I don't own any of this buy now.

Author Notes: One more chapter to go and this thing will finally be finished._I don't even remember what the point of any of this was anymore._


	7. The Road Traveled

Destination

**Destination**

TK Takaishi had a conventional office inside his apartment.He did not have the conventional job that went with it, but he did have an office.Office furniture--cheap stuff that he bought at a second hand store that served its purpose well enough, a computer--he'd brought Izzy to the store with him.At first he though it may have been a mistake.They'd spent upwards from three hours pouring over every option the writer may need, but in the end, TK had to admit it was more than worth it.The computer worked beautifully for more than typing up rough drafts and outlines.Communication with his publisher was a breeze, it had more memory than TK ever would have dreamed of, and even an incredible voice function that TK could speak narration ideas into and the computer would change into written form.He learned just how well that worked the time he sprained his wrist at the local gym.His office also included file cabinets, for research.It was customary to write what you know and if you didn't know something that you wanted to write about there was only one thing that could be done.

Learn it.Live it.Eat, sleep, breathe it.

His bookshelf was mostly empty.He had a few magazine issues he had been published in on one of the shelves, but for the most part the only literary works it contained were that of authors that inspired him.One cannot write without inspiration.

Over the course of his life, TK had learned of people letting their dreams inspire them.Not the sort of dreams that were used as weapons by MaloMyotismon, but the dreams that come to people in a deep, restful slumber.The idea fascinated TK, to him it seemed to be an embodiment of a quote he once heard concerning authors themselves not writing, but merely the vessels with which the universe wrote.

TK was quite eager to try that, but unfortunately, when he awoke he never remembered his dreams.There were a few exceptions, nightmares he always remembered and during the few days following the break up with Kari, he would dream about vanishing angels, but other than that, TK wasn't even positive he dreamt at all.On a whim, he'd once asked Patamon to check for him.Watch his eyes when was asleep, he requested of Patamon, did they moved underneath his eyelids?Patamon assured him, they did.TK reached REM sleep, he just couldn't remember his dreams.

There was one morning however, he stumbled into his office and through himself in front of the computer wearing only his boxers and his hair, which he really couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten it cut but he thought it might have been before Ken and Yolei's wedding, months ago, was mussed.He wasn't really thinking about what he was typing, just letting his fingers fly over the keyboard Izzy had so carefully chosen for him.

_To Tai Kamiya, who has enough courage for us all._

_To Sora Ishida, who carries herself with a mother's love._

_To Izzy Izumi, whose curiosity goes hand-in-hand with the knowledge he shares._

_To Joe Kido, who to this day claims responsibility for us and has never let us down._

_To Mimi Tachikawa, who taught us there is more to a pure and sincere soul than naiveté_

_But most of all,_

_To Matt Ishida, a more caring brother and better friend than I ever could have ever hoped for._

TK opened another new document and began typing again, his nightmare of Devimon still clear in his mind as he furiously began writing.

**_The Digimon Chronicles._**

**___Book One: Darkness and Devimon._**

**********************

Kari Kamiya juggled her mail as she fished out her keys and opened the door to her apartment.Gatomon entered as Kari dropped her keys back in to the pockets of her slacks.The brunette stepped inside then, as well and kicked the door shut behind herself.She dropped the mail on the counter as she crossed the kitchen.It was all bills anyway, there was still be another week before she was paid and able to take care of such business.

Beside the mail, she swung her tote bag onto the counter as well.Normally, it only contained her lesson plan and grade book, but there were two treasures with in today.The first was a crayon drawing one of her young students had done especially for her.Looking at it again, she smiled.No one had ever drawn a picture of Gatomon for her before.She placed the crude drawing against the refrigerator and secured it with a magnet.It gave the apartment a cheery feeling, Kari decided, as though perhaps something had been missing in her decor.There was something about the spirit of children, but Kari had always believed that.

She pulled her second treasure out next.A tin whistle on a green string sat in the palm of Kari's hand and as though fascinated by the simple object, she stared, unable to tear her eyes away from such a gift.Finally, she pulled the green string around her next and the whistle hung against her chest in a way that was both eerily and comfortingly familiar.Her hand curled around it for moment and she brought it to her lips.Shrill patterns escaped from the thin hole along the surface of the whistle and Kari, thoroughly drenched in a sea of nostalgia half-expected Tai to answer.But of course, even if he wasn't at a summit meeting in Switzerland, he still never would have heard it, after all, she was on her own now.

Almost.

Gatomon's ears had flattened against her head when Kari blew but now they perked up again.

"Warn me the next time you're going to do that," the cat requested.Kari laughed and checked her answering machine.

"We've got three new messages," Kari announced as she pushed the play button.

_"Hi," Kari's voice greeted herself, __"you've reached Kari and Gatomon.We're not here right now, but if you leave a message, we'll get back to you as soon as we can."_

_"First message," the mechanical pre-programmed voice said._

_"Hey, Kari.It's TK.You're not going to believe this, but I just sold a novel.Not just a novel, but my publisher gave me a contract for six!I couldn't believe they were willing to make such a commitment, considering I've only sold short stories up until now.They were interested in the entire chronicle of the Digidestined and I only showed them the rough draft of the first chapter and the outline of Darkness and Devimon.__I guess I'm a little surprised that adults would be interested in a story about a bunch of kids, but I guess they would like knowing the whole story behind how they got digimon partners, huh?My publisher compared it to a novel by anAmerican author named Steven King called It.__Apparently, that book alternated between when the characters were children and when they were adults.It got me to thinking maybe adding an epilogue to the sixth book, we're thinking about calling that one Our Digital World,__ I know it's a little early for titles but, we needed something to put on the contract.About the epilogue, I was thinking adding something about when we're all adults.Whatever point we're at when I get that far.I'd really like to hear your opinion on that.Do you think it's too much?Call me back, okay?"_

_There was a short clicking noise before the answering machine's voice alerted Kari of the second message._

_"Hi.It's me."At the voice, Kari smiled and blushed, fingering her present.__"I'm glad you like the whistle, but I still don't know why.Tell you what, I'll give you flowers next time I see you.But, of course, then you'd have to call me to tell me what kind you like..." The voice trailed off, but after a moment began again.__"A whistle."He seemed a bit preoccupied by Kari's appreciation of the gift.__"You know, if I knew girls liked whatever was sitting on my desk, I probably would have tried giving a cute second grade teacher my lesson plan.And before you say anything, gym teachers do so have lesson plans.How else would we know when to have the kids play four square and when to play basketball?"_

_The message clicked off then, but by then Kari had pulled out her teachers directory to find what number to reach her sweet and silly new beau at._

She was barely listening when the third message clicked on.There was no speaking, just a lot of back ground noise.It sounded to Kari like people were shouting, but she couldn't make out what anyone was saying.Finally, it sounded like someone dropped the phone.A few moments after that, the tell-tale click of the caller hanging up echoed on the answering machine.

Kari, who had found the number she was looking for, glanced first to the telephone, then to Gatomon.

"What _was that?" they asked each other in unison._

**********************

Hawkmon was frantic, to say the least, but Wormmon didn't think that was uncalled for, not at all.He actually thought it to be somewhat cruel that the human doctors wouldn't let Hawkmon into the delivery room.The hospital staff was unmoving on the subject.During the birth process and operations, it was hospital policy not to admit the digimon partner of the patient.Initially, it had been allowed, but after several digimon digivolved to their champion forms in distress, it was no longer permitted.A giant eagle, the doctors reasoned, would certainly get their way.

So, Hawkmon, after a failed attempt to get his mind off of Yolei by calling her friends to tell them she was having _the baby returned to the waiting room.Other occupants of the waiting room included Ken's blissfully proud parents, who weren't the least bit bother by becoming grandparents so early.Most people Ken's age these days weren't even in serious relationships never mind married and fathering a child.Yolei's parents sat on another couch, understandably worried and anxious.The soon-to-be mothers' siblings--how they all managed to get the time off work with such little notice was anyone's guess--were creating a pool to make bets on how many children their youngest sister would have.It seemed to them that she and the hubby must be busy...When the teasing began at the hands of Chizuru when Yolei first started to show, the lavender haired woman countered with how romantic a Honeymoon Baby was._

Chizuru supposed that was true...as long as one doesn't mind that _everyone knew what they were doing...To this Yolei had arched an eyebrow.What else would they have done?The sisters had gotten a good laugh at that, though the blonde was fairly certain at this exact moment Yolei wasn't anywhere near laughing._

The door to the delivery room opened and all those waiting tensed.Ken appeared, and all eyes turned to him.Hawkmon nearly tackled the young man in his efforts to know the condition of his partner.The bird digimon didn't get any information out of the young man.There only seemed to be four words Ken was capable of saying, almost as though he didn't believe it himself.

"I've got a daughter."

**********************

"Ken a appellé," Davis said, wandering into the living room.Catherine was watching a tape of Mimi's show.Though she was only the assistant, the star was open to suggestions and Mimi had enthusiastically convinced the producers to feature Davis and Catherine as guests.To give the show a more worldly atmosphere, they said. Catherine had been going through each of the takes to help advance the editing process, but now she thumbed over the pause button.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Ils sont une fille," Davis continued with a goofy smile."Elle est belle.Veemon parle avec Wormmon au telephone."

"Dites-lui ne pas raccrocher l'ppareil.Je veux parler a Yolei."

"Veemon, don't hang up!" Davis called into the next room.Catherine muttered something that sounded to Davis like the French equivalent of 'I could have done that,' but she wore a smile as she said it, so he couldn't be sure.

Catherine began to play the tape again and Davis disappeared from the room, citing that was going to see if they had any bananas left.

On the television, the host was asking Davis and Catherine about future plans for their noodle business, which had expanded as far as two carts in the city.

_"Plans?" the image of Davis asked, __"Not really."He glanced at Catherine and shrugged.__"We're where we wanted to go."_

***~*~*Owari*~*~***

Where you go....destination... get it?*pauses* Yeah, it seemed a lot more clever a few months ago.

Disclaimers: You do know the drill, right?****

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